


I'll Take it Hard

by Sproid



Category: Eastwick (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Female Friendship, Fluff, Het, Multi, Smut, Strap-Ons, implied threesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-13
Updated: 2013-10-13
Packaged: 2017-12-29 08:14:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1003069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sproid/pseuds/Sproid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kat blushes, and Darryl grins, white teeth flashing against his tan. His thumbs stroke across her palms, and he says, “The point is, I’m all yours. I suggest you take advantage of me.”</p><p>--</p><p>In which Kat wholly embraces her newly single life. This involves making love to a wealthy industrialist, repeatedly, in lots of different ways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Take it Hard

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks go to [Deputychairmain](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Deputychairman) for beta-ing this for me. I was not at all sure that the fic would work, but her comments reassure me that it does. She is also responsible for pointing out that Darryl sometimes sounded like Fraser, and given that he really is _not_ Fraser, this is a good thing to change before posting. Finally, she helped this flow like it should and made sure it included all the relevant sections. 
> 
> We also did a fair amount of squeeing about Paul Gross's voice in this, and just generally him, which needs to be done and was a lot of fun. 
> 
> Thank you, Deputy!

While Roxie and Darryl are in Rio, and Joanna is busy rejoicing in getting her job back, Kat has the crappiest week going. It’s almost as if, without her girl friends and Darryl around her as good-luck charms, she’s got no hope of being a successful adult. 

A million and one things go wrong, starting with her accidentally flashing her neighbour’s eleven year old son, continuing with Emily taking a tumble down the stairs that thankfully has Kat more shaken up than her little girl, and ending with her going to the supermarket without either cash or cards. Which, of course, she only realises when everything is packed and it’s time to pay. 

By the time Raymond comes to take the kids to their grandma’s for a few days, Kat’s way past ready for an evening alone. So she finds her oldest, softest pyjamas, digs out the wine from the fridge, the ice cream from the freezer, and settles down on the sofa to watch old films and feel sorry for herself. It’s not as much fun without Roxie and Joanna, but it’ll do. 

She’s feeling somewhat better until there’s a knock on the door. Upon opening it, she finds Darryl standing there, all sun and sex and confidence in a _really_ nice suit. 

Kat wraps her arms around herself to hide her raggedy pyjamas, and tries not to glare too much at him.

“What do you want?” she grumbles. The not-glaring isn’t going too well.

Darryl raises an eyebrow. “Well, what a positively exuberant greeting that was. And here I was thinking you might have missed me.”

He doesn’t sound offended in the slightest, but Kat feels guilty anyway. “Sorry,” she sighs, unfolding her arms and rubbing at her forehead. “Of course I did. It’s just… it’s been a crappy week.”

Darryl reaches out and catches her hands, folding them warmly in his own. It feels like the first kind gesture Kat’s had all week. Stepping closer, he suggests, “Why don’t I come in, and you can tell me all about it over the rest of that wine I can see on your table.”

That sounds far more tempting than it should, which probably means it’s a bad idea. Kat narrows her eyes at him in the vain hope it’ll do any good. “Shouldn’t you be with Roxie?”

“Incredible sex notwithstanding, Roxie and I can only spend so much time in each other’s company before we want to kill each other. The urge will pass, but for now it’s safer if we avoid each other.”

Kat blushes, and Darryl grins, white teeth flashing against his tan. His thumbs stroke across her palms, and he says, “The point is, I’m all yours. I suggest you take advantage of me.”

Which is how, two glasses of wine later, Kat ends up getting snot all over his shoulder, while Darryl strokes her hair and her back and murmurs soothing things in her ear that Kat doesn’t hear a word of because she’s mumbling incoherently about how Mrs Flannerty gave an evil look at the supermarket yesterday. It’s probably not the kind of taking advantage that he meant, or that she hopes he meant, but he’s warm and strong and is doing a really fantastic job of pretending not to mind that she’s ruining his shirt. At least it isn’t his jacket, which he took off when he came in. That’d probably be really expensive to replace.

“I could easily buy another,” Darryl assures her. “And my shirt isn’t nearly as important as making you feel better, Kat.”

“Thank you,” Kat mumbles. Taking in a hiccuping breath, she turns so her cheek is against his chest. It’s something of an awkward angle when she’s sat next to him on the couch, although he’s turned towards her as much as he can. Sitting on his lap would probably be more comfortable, and also wildly inappropriate.

“Double bonus, then,” Darryl says, and draws a watery laugh from Kat.

Then she frowns. Wait. “Did I say that out loud?”

“You certainly did.”

“And that bit about your jacket?”

“That too, yes.”

She winces, and lifts her head so she can look him in the eye, while he strokes strands of wet hair back from her face with a wholly amused, and equally fond look. “And… the, uh, taking advantage part?”

“Oh, yes.” He leans in closer, which takes some doing given their current proximity. “Would it reassure you to know that you were quite right, I had an entirely different method of taking advantage in mind?”

“Not really.” Kat groans and puts her head in her hands. “I need to go to bed. Before I say anything else I’m going to regret in the morning.”

“Never regret saying something you mean,” he tells her. When she looks up and peeks through her fingers, he looks as serious as he ever gets. Then he smiles, and slides his arms around her. The next thing Kat knows, the whole room is moving around her as he stands, and she grabs on to the front of his shirt.

“What-”

“I’m taking you to bed,” he tells her. Before she can protest, he adds, “Where I shall leave you to sleep off the effects of that wine. Alone.”

Kat considers that, and by the time she’s decided that her legs are wobbly enough to make it a bad idea to climb the stairs alone, he’s already carried her up them. “Oh. Well. Thank you.”

He lays her down carefully, and pulls the covers over her. Kat’s eyes are already drifting shut, but she manages to lift her head to press a kiss to his cheek before he stands, and thinks she sees him give her a soft look before she falls asleep.

\-- -- -- -- --

The following morning, Kat wakes up with a headache the size of Darryl’s ego, an unpleasantly dry throat, and determinedly gummed-shut eyes. When she manages to get them open, the first thing she sees is Darryl leaning over her. That’s startling enough that she scrambles out from under his arm before he’s even half-way through his cheery “Good morning, sunshine.”

“God, Darryl,” she breathes from the other side of the bed, as her half-awake brain realises that he’s not a threat. “Did no-one ever tell you it’s bad manners to scare someone before they’re properly awake?”

“Well, that certainly wasn’t my intention.”

“Yeah, well, it’s kind of intimidating to wake up with someone leaning over you when you went to bed alone, OK?”

He stands and moves away from the bed, hands partially raised. “In which case, I apologise. I assure you it won’t happen again.”

Prepared for an argument, Kat blinks at him. After a moment to quickly reorganise her thoughts, she says, “Well, thank you. I appreciate that. Are you here for a reason?”

“Several, in fact. The primary one being that I suspect your head is suffering, and so you will find in your kitchen a selection of coffee, fruit juices, and pastries. I also have with me -” He waves his hand, and produces with a flourish, “- Aspirin.”

He’s looking at her expectantly, and with a laugh Kat holds her hands out. The packet lands in them a moment later. “You are… definitely not an angel,” she concludes with a shake of her head. “But thank you.”

Flashing his teeth, Darryl echoes her shake of the head. “I’ll see you downstairs.”

\-- -- -- -- --

He only stays long enough to see her drink some orange juice and pass her the croissants. By the time he leaves though, Kat feels entirely recovered, both from last night and her awful week. Whether it’s the painkillers, breakfast, or just Darryl, she doesn’t know, but it’s a much nicer start to her weekend than she’d been expecting.

Thankfully there’s no repeat of that decidedly awful week. Darryl carries on turning up anyway, late in the evening when the kids are in bed and Kat’s by herself. Kat can’t work out whether he’s bored because Roxie and Joanna are doing their own things, or checking up to make sure _she’s_ alright without Roxie and Joanna to keep her company. 

The flirting would seem to indicate the former, but then again he always stays on the other sofa, resting his head in his hand as he leans over the armrest to talk to her. With the lamp on low, and Darryl asking how she is with what appears to be genuine concern for her well-being, Kat can’t deny that she’s drawn to him. If he was closer then she’d probably just kiss him already, but he stays contrarily out of arm’s reach, despite his obvious interest.

Eventually, Kat gets fed up, and just asks him. “Did I do something to offend you, or do I just smell really bad?”

His eyebrows raise in what looks like surprise. “Neither. You told me not to come closer unless given permission, I’m simply doing as you asked.”

Kat can’t help the smile that she knows is forming. “Darryl, are you keeping your distance because I told you off that morning when you scared the hell out of me?”

As if it should be blatantly obvious, he replies, “Well, yes.”

Kat shakes her head, and reflects on the irony that is Darryl Van Horne being one of the few men she knows who would actually listen to her when she said that. “Get over here,” she tells him fondly.

“Gladly,” he says, and bounces up, then onto the sofa next to her in the blink of an eye. Voice dropping, he leans in and murmurs, “And now?”

In response, Kat reaches up and slides her hands across his cheeks, until the tips of her fingers slide into his hair and she stops to rub her thumb across his face. “Aaah,” he breathes, eyes intent on hers as she leans slowly towards him. Then he meets her half-way, one hand coming up to curve gently around her jaw, and opens his mouth to her. As he kisses her back hot and deep and sure, Kat abandons all plans of keeping it light, and just sinks into him.

\-- -- -- -- --

After she manages to get it together enough to kick Darryl off her sofa and out of the house - not that she wants to, especially when that quick smile of his holds all kind of promises - Kat takes a deep breath and faces the facts. She has to tell Roxie. Darryl’s hinted (well, stated, this is Darryl, whose flirting leans more towards blatant propositions than subtle suggestions) more than once that Roxie won’t mind, but Kat’s done the whole ‘hurt a friend’ thing with Joanna already, and she’s damn well going to make sure she doesn’t do it again with Roxie.

It’s not a situation she’s had to discuss before, so she decides to just get it out there all at once, and see how it pans out. Armed with a bottle of wine, she goes over to Roxie’s the next day. While Roxie’s fetching the glasses, she takes a deep breath and comes out with “Roxie, would you hate me if I slept with Darryl?” 

Roxie turns around, wine glasses in hand, and stares at Kat. Just as Kat starts to panic that she’s seriously misjudged things, a decidedly mischievous smile spreads across Roxie’s face. “Why, Kat,” she says, setting down the glasses and leaning in to fix her with a very interested look. “What _has_ been going on in your life recently?”

Over the bottle of wine, and some of Roxie’s world-class hummus, Kat lets Roxie tease out what little there is to know. She feels kind of silly admitting that it’s actually really nice to have someone interested in her without any of the complicated messy feelings that get in the way, but Roxie seems to understand. 

“‘Simple’ isn’t a word to describe Darryl, but he does have a certain refreshing directness when it comes to sex,” she agrees. “Go get him with my blessing, Kat.” Leaning in to hug her, she adds, “And have fun. Trust me when I say I know you will.”

Kat hugs her back tightly, and says, “Thank you, Roxie.” There’s a slight lump in her throat when Roxie sends her on a way with a kiss to the cheek, but it’s the good kind, and Kat smiles all the way home.

\-- -- -- -- --

She stops by the mansion after work on Monday, feeling confident enough to share some of her cheeriness with Fidel when he shows her into Darryl’s office. In return, she gets a slightly deeper incline of his head than usual before he leaves. Kat counts that as a success.

Standing and coming around his desk, Darryl observes, “Someone’s in a good mood.”

Kat takes a few steps closer, and holds out her hands. Darryl takes them and draws her towards him, giving her a soft smile when she stops a bare inch away from him.

“I am,” Kat confirms. “I spoke to Roxie last night. She says it’s fine for us to have all the sex we want.”

“Didn’t I say exactly the same thing?”

“You did,” she agrees. Slipping one hand free to press against his chest, she explains, “But I needed to make sure, Darryl. Roxie’s my friend.”

He lifts one hand to cover the back of hers. “And I’m not?”

Kat holds his eyes. He doesn’t look hurt, or offended, but then again he very rarely does. “You know that’s not what I meant.” Standing on tiptoes so she can reach his ear, she murmurs, “It’s different. But you’re my friend, too, Darryl.” Then she kisses his cheek swiftly, and when she comes back down, Darryl is for once without a smooth comeback. “You’re always surprised when I do that, aren’t you?” Before he feels the need to answer, she squeezes his hands and pulls away. Some secrets, she’ll let him keep. “I have to get back to the kids. I’ll see you later?”

Darryl snaps his fingers, and Fidel opens the door. Once more his usual self, he confirms, “Indeed you will. I look forward to it.”

“So do I,” Kat tells him with a wink, and grins when he laughs.

\-- -- -- -- --

For some reason, Kat assumes that Darryl is just going to show up on Friday evening or something, probably with a bottle of wine, and that things will descend from there. 

Of course, he doesn’t, regardless of the fact that the kids are away for the weekend again. Instead she gets an invitation during the week, hand-delivered by Fidel, asking if Darryl can take her out for dinner on Saturday evening. And she has to smile at the consideration there; she’ll be wiped out on Friday after her shift, and she’ll need time to get ready, so Saturday is perfect for her.

The meal is good, excellent even, but more for the experience than simply the food. Darryl forgoes his usual need to be at the centre of attention, and they eat at a little table tucked away in the corner, where no-one can see Darryl playing with her fingers in between courses. Oddly, he chooses now to demonstrate that he’s more than capable of subtlety, flirting with the tone of voice and the look in his eyes and the undercurrents of his words. By the time they finish dessert, Kat’s more than ready to take him up on every single thing he hasn’t said.

At the mansion, Darryl takes her coat and gives her a long, appreciative look, then leads the way upstairs. While Kat’s staring in awe at the bed which is as big as her room, Darryl gets out of his clothes, so that when Kat turns around, he’s very naked and looking very wicked. 

That’s when the nervousness hits, because Kat can’t stop looking at… everything, and it’s a lot more than she expected. Roxie’s ‘full size SUV’ comparison really doesn’t do him justice.

“Kat,” Darryl says. She forces her eyes back up to his face. “Breathe,” he tells her, and thank goodness he’s only a little bit amused, because Kat is feeling quite inadequate enough already thank you.

After a few deep breaths, she says weakly, “Sorry. It’s just… You’re…” She gestures at him, and he raises an eyebrow. “A lot bigger than I realised. It’s not funny!” she protests when he lets out a laugh. “You might squash me or something, and I’m not even sure you’re going to fit!”

“Kat, Kat, Kat,” he says soothingly, and apparently judges it safe to come closer, because he takes slow steps over to her. “You are a nurse, not an uninformed teenager. You know perfectly well that won’t be a problem.”

“Doesn’t stop the irrational part of me worrying about it,” she mutters. She lets him take her hands though, and draw them up to his chest. Beneath her palms, he feels really good, hot skin and solid muscle. She knows he’s trying to distract her but she’s inclined to let him.

“And as for squashing you, I have excellent upper body strength. Well, all over strength, actually." Kat can feel that. “Alternatively, we could avoid the problem altogether if you’re on top.”

Kat’s breath catches. It takes her a minute to get her thoughts together, and away from that image, enough to get out, “Maybe next time.”

Grinning, he leans down to murmur against her lips. “Oh, Kat, we’ve got all night.” 

Then they’re kissing, his tongue hot and strong against her own, and Kat’s nerves vanish with the need to feel him closer. So she lifts her hands to grab at the back of his head, and he wraps his arms around her to press them together with an approving groan that Kat feels rumbling through her bones. As they kiss, he wastes no time undoing her zip, fingers tracing hot shivers down her spine, until he reaches the top of her ass where the zip stops. Kat lets him pull away, and he murmurs, “May I?”

At her nod, he lifts his hands and slips his fingers beneath the shoulder straps. Barely brushing her skin, he pushes them away oh-so-carefully, eyes hot on hers for a moment until they drop to follow the neckline of the dress as he pulls it slowly downwards. No bra, not with this dress, and Kat shivers beneath his gaze, but he just carries on, doesn’t even pause when he finds the waistband of her underwear, just pulls everything down over her hips and then lets it fall to her feet.

Now they’re both naked, Kat can’t help noticing that next to him she looks even more slender than she usually does, a slim figure to his strong bulk. She can’t help comparing herself to Roxie, too, with her curves and her height, neither of which she can possibly measure up to. But then Darryl curves his hands around her thighs, brushes them up over her hips, the outside of her ribs, around her back to rest on her shoulder blades, and his touch draws her attention back to her own body. 

Looking her in the eye, he tells her, “You know, Kat, you’re a lot stronger than you think. I wouldn’t dream of testing it, but you could handle whatever I throw at you.”

Kat thinks of herself standing firm in storms that try to knock her off her feet; she thinks of telling Darryl to write his own list; she thinks about linking hands with Joanna and Roxie, and doing her part. “Appearances can be deceiving,” she murmurs.

“Precisely,” Darryl replies.

Kat winds her arms around his neck, and steps backwards. Darryl follows. Strong arms lift her onto the bed, and then he crawls over her, lowering himself until they’re just barely touching, his breath flowing soft and warm over her lips. And Kat decides not to tell him that she’s never been with anyone but Raymond, because he probably already knows, and in any case it doesn’t really matter. It’s far more important to wrap her arms around his back and pull him closer instead. 

With one quick, firm kiss, his lips move away to press against her jaw, her ear, sharp teeth briefly there before he licks his way down her neck, hot and wet over her collarbone, moving down her body until his dark head is on a level with her breasts. Cupping one big hand around her, he holds her eyes as he brushes his thumb across her nipple, and smiles in satisfaction when she lets out a quick breath. There’s a flash of teeth as he lowers his head, and Kat gasps out quickly, “Be careful.”

“Sensitive?” he enquires. When she nods, he gets that look of ‘oh, this is going to be fun’. Briefly, Kat wonders if it would have been wiser to say nothing, but then he lowers his head and breathes out hotly over her nipple, and she forgets to worry. He presses a kiss to the upper swell of her breast, then another one lower, moving achingly slowly, while on her other breast his thumb rubs over her just as slowly.

When he finally gets his mouth to where Kat wants it, she’s breathing fast and flushed all over, and lets out an embarrassingly needy sound when he lays his tongue over her nipple, hot and soft and oh-so-careful. And then he proceeds to lick and suck and kiss, warm and wet and unrelenting, with just a hint of teeth before he swaps sides, while Kat groans and grips tightly at his shoulders.

Eventually he lets up, with a smug, “I’ll take it by your squirming - which feels incredible by the way, do carry on - that you approve?”

She wipes the smirk off his face by hauling him up for a kiss and licking into his mouth. While he’s distracted, she gets a leg around his waist to rub against him briefly, then pushes at his side and somehow manages to get him on his back. He probably lets her do that, but Kat doesn’t care, because she’s got him there now, and he’s spreading his arms out as he asks her, “Now what are you going to do with me?”

Kat can’t remember what it was like with Raymond before they already knew each other’s bodies. Running her hands out over his arms, she says, “I haven’t decided yet.”

“Good answer,” Darryl murmurs, and chuckles when Kat presses a kiss to his nose. Kat decides that he’ll tell her if she does something he does or doesn’t like, so she follows the same path he did. When she licks at the side of his neck, he tips his head to the side and gives her better access to it, which is… incredibly interesting. A sharp nip there draws a satisfied sigh from him, and when she closes her teeth more firmly over a patch of skin and sucks hard, he growls low in his throat and tips his head further back.

Drawing back, she finds that his eyes are dark and focussed entirely on her. As she puts her hands on his chest and presses him into the mattress, he just watches and waits, even when she eases up. Swirling her finger around the already-hard peak of one nipple, she takes it carefully between her thumb and finger, and when his challenging gaze shows signs of impatience, presses slightly.

“No need to be shy,” he tells her, so she tightens her grip. “Harder.”

She hesitates. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Not even if I want you to?

Kat thinks she should be shocked, but it’s not exactly a surprise that Darryl can not only take but enjoy rougher treatment. So she tightens her fingers and pulls slightly, and he presses further back into the mattress so she’s pulling harder, until his nipple slips from her fingers and he’s panting slightly.

“Do you need an invitation to do it again?” he asks with a raised eyebrow. Kat shakes her head, no, she definitely does not. 

Curious, she takes his nipple between her teeth and nips hard. With a growl he arches into her, encouraging her with a very firm, “Oh, yes.” That’s a definite indication to continue, so she does.

She gets caught up in drawing those sounds of pleasure from him, until his hands come up to her arms and he says roughly, “Not that I’m not enjoying this, believe me, I am, but do you think we could fuck before I give in to the urge to just rub myself off against you?”

“Well…” Kat demures, enjoying teasing him just for a moment. Then relents, and says, “Seeing as you asked so nicely.” 

A moment later she lets out a squeak as he grasps her around the waist and turns them over again, settling on top of her and telling her low and dangerous, “Oh, you haven’t seen me truly asking nicely for something.” 

Then he takes her mouth with his own until she’s breathless, while one hand works its way down between her legs. He slips a finger achingly slowly into her, rubbing his thumb across her clit, and it’s not asking but it’s definitely nice, so much more than nice. His fingers have Kat whimpering into his mouth when he presses a second one in, twisting them inside her and pumping slowly, then faster, finding the rhythm that has her gripping him closer with her thighs. Then he just keeps going until Kat clenches around his fingers and comes with a muffled cry into his mouth, clinging to him as shocks of pleasure shake through her.

A few moments later she blinks her eyes open, which turns out to be all he’s waiting for. Reaching out with one long arm, he grabs a condom from the bedside table, tears it open and rolls it on, then presses into her in one long slide. He doesn’t take it slowly but he doesn’t need to, and his eyes watch her intently all the time anyway. When he’s all the way inside her, he holds still and drops his forehead to rest against hers. Stroking his fingers over her face, he murmurs hoarsely, “Exquisite.”

Kat feels much the same way about him, but she lacks the patience to tell him so. Instead she lifts a hand to cup his face, brushes her thumb against his mouth, and says, “Didn’t you say something about fucking?”

Almost grinning for a second, Darryl catches her thumb in his mouth, closes his teeth on it for a moment, then starts moving. The barely faded ripples of arousal rise again in Kat as his chest rubs against her breasts, and he rocks against her, finds her clit once more with those talented fingers and takes her right back up. Her orgasm hits her hard and fast, leaves her breathless and boneless beneath them, and then it’s his turn to grip her tightly as reaches his own release with a low grunt. 

Shuddering against her for long moments, he finally stills and rests heavily against her. Dazedly, Kat think that he’s the best blanket she’s ever had, he can just stay there for a while and she’ll be perfectly happy.

“That,” he says a few moments later, raising his head and holding her gaze with an expression that looks as satisfied as Kat feels, “Is _definitely_ something we will be doing again.”

Half-laughing, Kat pushes lazily at his shoulder. “Not before I’ve had a nap. Jeez, you’ve gotta give a girl a break.”

Equally as languidly, he presses his lips briefly to her shoulder, then rolls off and gets up to dispose of condom. Kat watches him as he walks back naked and unselfconscious, and now she lets herself look at him without embarrassment or nerves. Neither does she feel the need to cover herself when he lies back down next to her and reaches out to trail a finger between her breasts and down to her stomach, resting his hand there for a moment before he lifts it away.

Pulling the covers over them both, he tells her, “Nap. I trust you won’t object if I’m here this time when you wake up?”

“I’ll kick your ass if you’re not,” she assures him, and presses a finger to his lips before he can argue the impracticality of that. Then she yawns, and falls asleep, while he watches her.

\-- -- -- -- --

They don’t bother with dinner next weekend, and Kat doesn’t have any qualms about taking Darryl’s hand to drag him upstairs, strip him naked, and point him towards the bed while she undresses.

He sits up when she joins him on the bed. Straddling his legs, she pushes him back with one hand, and tells him, “Oh no, you stay right where you are.”

Gracefully, he settles back half-reclined against the pillows, muscles flexing beneath her touch, looking up at her with a lazy curiosity. “You have something specific in mind?”

“Well, seeing as I didn’t have the chance last time, I thought I’d get my hands on your cock.”

With a practically gleeful look on his face, he laces his hands together behind his head, spreads his legs wide, and drawls, “In that case, go right ahead.”

Kat does, but she takes her time about it. Kneeling between his legs, she reaches out to trace her fingers over his face, kiss him slow and gentle, pulling away when he tries to deepen it and ignoring his mock-glare. She trails her hands down to his shoulders, and when he enquires archly, “Are you having trouble finding it?” she reaches down to twist one nipple hard. Harsh pleasure morphs his glare into something dark and greedy, rapidly softening when she lets go but losing none of the anticipation burning in his eyes.

From then on, he holds back on the sarcastic remarks, and just lets Kat work her way slowly over the expanse of his chest. Down his torso, scratching her fingertips lightly around his navel, she draws a low, “Oooh. Tickles,” from him. There’s something about having him naked and waiting for her, neglected cock hard and jutting out between his legs, that makes Kat want to make him wait. While the answering throb between her own legs likes that idea, she’s not that patient, but she puts the idea away for another time.

Closing her hand around him, she rubs her thumb over his glistening tip, and Darryl lets out a long low groan, muscles in his stomach tensing and then slowly loosening. Kat looks up at him, and he’s watching her through half-lidded eyes, murmuring for her to continue before he quiets again. She strokes him once, cups his balls in her other hand to squeeze lightly, and oh yes, he’s a nice handful. Darryl indicates his approval by letting his hands fall to the bed and tipping his head back with a look of immense gratification on his face.

Now she’s got him here, she doesn’t just want to touch, she wants to taste as well. When she licks her lips, and wonders if she should ask him, he lifts his head and says, “Don’t let me stop you.”

So she wriggles backwards and stretches out on her stomach, tugging at his hips so he shifts down and she can get at him more easily. There’s no way she’s going to get him all in her mouth, but when she wraps her hand around the base of him, and slowly takes the rest of him in, swirling her tongue around his length, the _very_ appreciative sound he lets out says he couldn’t care less. 

And as much as he’s obviously enjoying this, he’s entirely under control, very considerately not choking Kat by rocking against her, which means that Kat doesn’t need to keep a hand free to hold him down just in case. So she lets it wander over the hard muscles of his thigh, around under his ass, which feels just as fine as it looks, tight muscles, soft skin, twitching as she spreads her fingers over the curve of it, dips into the cleft between his buttocks, not even thinking until he says, “Ah, Kat -” 

She pulls away and off him, more than a little mortified. “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry, Darryl, I wasn’t - I didn’t mean to -”

He cuts her off by reaching out for her, drawing her half-up his body. She braces herself with one hand against his chest while his eyes hold hers and he tells her, “I wasn’t objecting, Kat.” Then he runs his fingertip over her short nails, and leans down to suck her fingers into his mouth, sliding his tongue over, around, between, hot and slick and wet. Kat gasps. When he lets her fingers slip from his mouth, they’re glistening with his saliva. Darryl says, “I was only going to ask that you allow me to do that first.”

Kat’s mouth is dry. She has to swallow before she speaks. “You mean, you want me to…”

“Put your fingers in my ass? If you wouldn’t mind.”

And Kat really hadn’t been considering that when she’d had her hands all over his ass, but she definitely is now, only, “I haven’t exactly done this before. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Darryl quirks his eyebrow. “Haven’t we already had this conversation? I promise you, you won’t hurt me.” 

Kat hesitates a moment longer. “Are you sure?”

He tilts his head towards her again, lifts his hips off the bed and presses himself against her so she can feel him hard against her stomach, while he licks her fingers again with anticipation burning in his eyes. “Oh, yes.”

Which is how Kat ends up with one slightly shaking hand curved around his hip, pressing one finger slowly into Darryl’s ass, while he twists his hands in the sheets and urges her on, half-instructive, half-impatient. Kat doesn’t feel up for trying another finger, he’s tight enough around her as it is, but when she wraps her other hand around Darryl’s length, he groans low in his throat and pushes his hips up into her grasp, firmly, deliberately. When Kat drags her gaze up to his face, he’s flushed and sweating, mouth open and teeth bared, and he growls at her “Yes, I’m fine, would you get on with it?”

So she does, stroking him at the same time as she pumps her finger inside him, and his hands twist in the sheets as his head falls back onto the pillows. Wordless grunts escape him as he rocks into her, going after the pleasure he wants without reservation, and Kat gives it to him, loving the fact that she’s the one working him up like this, and incredibly turned on by the sight of him writhing on the sheets in front of her. It’s a good thing that he really doesn’t last long, because by the time he clenches around her and spills over her hand, Kat’s about ready to spontaneously combust. These days, that’s possibly not the idle threat it once would have been.

She lets him lie there for less time than is probably polite, before she pulls away from him. “Don’t you fall asleep on me,” she says. It’s meant to sound authoritative, but probably comes out more like a plea.

With one last deep breath, he stretches his legs out and raises his head. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” he tells her, and then chuckles as Kat moves up to lie on top of him, pressing her hips urgently against his. “Is there something I can do for you?” he enquires, even as he wraps his arms around her and rolls them over.

“Get me off.” That’s definitely pleading, and she doesn’t care; Darryl’s weight pressing her into the mattress is fantastic, but not nearly enough. “Quickly.”

“That, I can do.” Darryl winks at her. “I’d hold onto something if I were you.”

So when he wriggles down her body and pushes her thighs firmly apart with his hands, Kat doesn’t bother to worry about courtesy, just gets her hands into his hair and grips tight so she can pull his head towards her. And thank god, he doesn’t mess around, puts his mouth on her without hesitation and gets right on with it while Kat groans and pushes into him. He lays his tongue against her opening, licks up and in, finds her clit and circles around it before he sucks hard on it, and keeps up a fast, firm rhythm that has the white-hot pleasure of release coursing through her blessedly quickly.

Kat comes back to herself when Darryl lifts his head and shakes it, sending Kat’s hands to lie at her sides with the rest of her limp body. Staring up at the ceiling, she feels the mattress move as he comes back up the bed and settles next to her with a contented sigh.

“Might I assume that you haven’t done that before?” Darryl enquires.

Kat lets out a short laugh. “Are you kidding? Raymond would never-” She cuts herself off. The details of her sex-life with Raymond are not something she feels entirely comfortable discussing with Darryl, even if she’s beginning to get the impression that as fantastic as it was, there might be certain things she’d missed out on. “No, I hadn’t,” she finishes, turning to face Darryl.

Rather than look smug, or push her to finish her sentence about Raymond, Darryl just reaches out to curve his hand around her face. “Might I also assume that you enjoyed it as much as I did?”

Kat knows she’s blushing, but Darryl just strokes his thumb across her face and doesn’t tease her. “That… that would be a fair assessment, yes.”

“Hmm.” He looks at her consideringly. “If I were to suggest that we get you a strap-on, what would your reaction be?”

“A what now?” Kat raises a hand. “No, sorry, that wasn’t actually a request for an explanation, I know what a strap-on is.” She looks at him. “I - uh - why?”

“I think you might enjoy it. I know _I_ would.”

It’s her turn to look at him consideringly. “Darryl…”

“Yes?”

“You’re not just doing this because you think you have a, a responsibility to introduce me to all the things I haven’t done before, are you?”

He raises himself on one elbow, and leans in to kiss her, as soft and gentle and sweet as she’s ever seen him. “I am doing this,” he says, cradling her head in his hands, “Because I am incredibly attracted to you, and the list of things I wish to do in bed with you is as long as a certain part of my anatomy.” Kat laughs, and he smiles at her. “There’s a whole world out there for you to explore, Kat. If you’ll let me, I’d like to explore it with you.”

Turning towards him, Kat wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him again. “I can’t think of anyone better to show me the ropes,” she says.

“Are we talking figurative ropes, or the literal kind?” 

He laughs when Kat swats lightly at his shoulder.

“Where would you even get a strap-on from?” Kat asks curiously.

“The internet is a wonderful place.” He must see something on Kat’s face, because he adds, “I also know of a wonderful little shop a reasonable distance away from here, full of everything a newly single adult could desire. Would you care to accompany me to it at some point?”

Kat draws in a breath, and nods. “I really would.”

Darryl grins. “Excellent.”

\-- -- -- -- --

The next time she’s hanging out with Roxie and Joanna, and the topic of weekend plans come up, Kat foolishly mentions that she’s going on a shopping trip with Darryl.

Curiously, Joanna asks, “For what?”

Oh dear, Kat realises, she really didn’t think that through before she said it. She glares at her martini. Trying not to blush too much, she replies, “I, uh, I’d rather not say.”

Roxie chokes on her drink, but thankfully manages to get it under control, and considerately changes the topic of conversation.

She catches Kat before they leave though, and holds her by the shoulders as she says with a smile playing over her lips, “Darryl’s looking after you alright then?”

“Yeah,” Kat says. “Yeah, he is.”

“Good.” Roxie hugs her. “Have fun shopping for things you’d rather not talk about,” she says with a wink, and Kat laughs even as she blushes again.

\-- -- -- -- --

The shop is small but not tiny, bright and clean, and filled with a variety of interestingly coloured and shaped things whose purpose Kat can only guess at. Darryl looks like a kid in a candy shop, pointing out things that catch his eye, while at his side Kat tries not to laugh too much at his enthusiasm.

“Can I help you folks?” a young lady asks, coming over to them and doing, under the circumstances, a very good job of hiding her amusement.

“We,” Darryl tells her. “Are looking for a strap on.”

“Well you’ve come to the right place,” the lady says. “Our selection is right over here. I’m Andrea, by the way,” she says, looking back over her shoulder as she leads them over to the other side of the shop. “You need any help picking things out?”

Kat glances up at Darryl, who simply looks back and lifts one shoulder, and Kat decides that Darryl might know what he’s doing but she sure as hell doesn’t. She turns back to Andrea, and says determinedly, “Yes. Please.”

She manages not to flush too much during the decidedly frank discussion that follows, which is as professional and impersonal as it can be, but she has to admit that Darryl’s presence by her side is very reassuring.

When Andrea has finished the run-through of the pros and cons of various items, she leaves them to make their selection. Although Darryl has no objection to their being a penis in the bedroom that’s bigger than his, Kat definitely does. She insists on something reasonably sized, which looks as if the harness won’t have to struggle to hold it in place. Seeing as Darryl gives in without too much of an argument, she lets him pick the colour, and isn’t all surprised when he goes for a shade of purple that matches his shirt perfectly.

At the checkout, Andrea enquires, “Anything else I can get for you?”

“Lubricant,” Darryl replies. Looking at Kat, he adds, “Lots of it.”

Giving up on embarrassment, Kat nudges him in the side and mutters, “You’re incorrigible.”

“Aren’t I just?” Handing over his card to Andrea, Darryl turns back to Kat. “Why don’t you take a look around, see if anything else catches your eye? I’ll be in the car when you’re done.”

“But - I -”

“Surprise me,” Darryl says with a wink.

Turning back around, Kat meets Andrea’s eye and raises her shoulders helplessly. After finishing putting the strap-on and lube in a bag, Andrea raises an eyebrow and says, “Pushy, isn’t he?”

“You have no idea,” Kat says fervently. Then she feels slightly guilty, because all right, he definitely is, but really he knows exactly where the line is and doesn’t even come close to crossing it.

“Sure you can handle him?”

Kat snorts. “No. But I’m…” She considers, and waves her hand in the air. “Oh, seventy percent sure that he’ll let me.”

Apparently satisfied, Andrea nods. “So. What else can we tempt you with?”

Kat turns slowly and looks around the shop, before her gaze comes to rest on the display case next to the counter. Pointing at the metal chains and clamps, shiny and bright and drawing her towards them, she asks, “What are those?”

“Those,” Andrea tells her with an approving smile, “Are nipple clamps.”

Kat grins. “Oh? Tell me more.”

\-- -- -- -- --

In the car, Darryl makes no attempt to look in the bag, but gives it very curious glances until Kat gives in and hands it over. Then his eyebrows raise and he looks at her over the top of it. Kat feels nervous until he lowers the bag and she sees the look on his face, like she’s surprised him and proved him right in all the best ways. Carefully, he sets it down, and then slides across the seat to take her in his arms and kiss her with restrained need and a whole load of heat that has her flushed and panting by the time they pull up outside Kat’s house.

“Until next time,” Darryl says when he draws back, and he might sound perfectly controlled, but Kat doesn’t miss the way he adjusts himself as he retakes his seat on the other side of the car.

“Yeah,” she says, and opens the door before she gives in to the urge to drag him inside with her.

\-- -- -- -- --

The next time Kat ends up in Darryl’s bedroom, the strap-on and lube are on the bedside table, and she gets so jittery that she can’t get Darryl’s shirt buttons undone. Thankfully, he takes her hands and kisses her fingers, then gets them both out of their clothes and onto the bed quick enough that Kat doesn’t have too much time to think. Then he’s above her, kissing her softly, coaxing her mouth open while his hands stroke over her sides, chasing away the nerves until she’s got her arms wound around his neck and is pulling him closer, and things aren’t nearly as slow and careful as they were five minutes ago.

When Kat gets her legs around his waist, Darryl kisses his way to her ear, and bites on her earlobe before he murmurs, “I think you should fuck me now.”

Kat turns her head so she can return the favour, biting harder than he did, and then tugs his head up with a hand in his hair. “Yeah,” she says breathlessly. “So do I.”

For a minute, Kat feels pretty silly, kneeling on the bed while Darryl’s quick fingers fasten the leather straps around her and she’s left with a rather large purple plastic penis attached to her. She’s really not opposed to it as a colour, it’s just not helping with the slightly surreal feeling.

But then Darryl’s eyes travel over her and he licks his lips, then leans down to press his mouth to just above where the dildo lies, mouth hot and wet low on her stomach, while his hands rest on her hips and his fingers stroke along the straps. When he kneels back up and meets her eyes, his own cock is standing proud and unashamed between his legs, and his voice is rich with lust when he says, “You look like all the best dreams I’ve ever had.”

With his eyes still on hers, he leans back on the bed, reaches up to grab a pillow and then drags it beneath him so that his hips are raised towards her. He brings his knees up and apart so his ass is… right there. Now Kat doesn’t feel remotely silly, not with Darryl looking at her like that, waiting for her with his quick breaths loud in the air around them. Slowly, she trails her hand down her stomach, wraps it around the purple silicon, half her concentration on what it feels like, and the other half on Darryl who grunts, whose cock jerks, who looks as impatient as Kat is beginning to feel.

Reaching out, he grabs the tube of lube, and hands it to her. “I suggest more rather than less,” he says.

Kat opens the cap. “You’re the expert.”

Darryl encourages her with confident instructions that make Kat flush at first, until she adds a second finger to the first, and he shows his pleasure by wrapping his hand around his length and stroking himself with a quiet groan. When she glances up, he’s watching her with a hint of a smile, half-fond, half-amused, and he holds her eyes as he strokes himself again. Acting on instinct, Kat twists her fingers inside him and pushes just a little harder. He grins at her. “Now you’re getting the hang of it.”

Caught up in how he’s hot and slick around her fingers, the way he’s stretching open around them, Kat forgets to be embarrassed about anything, and just sinks into the arousal that comes with watching the smugness slip from Darryl’s expression to be replaced by hungry pleasure. By the time she’s got a third finger deep inside him, ignoring his impatience and telling him that it can’t hurt to be thorough, Darryl’s impatient and looking at her like she’s going to pay for this later. All he does though is prop himself up on his elbows and tighten his hand around the base of his cock as he watches her.

When he’s breathing fast, stomach tense and cock leaking over his hand, Kat decides that she’s had enough of teasing them both. “Finally,” Darryl says when she draws her fingers from him, although he looks far less annoyed than Kat expected. She begins to suspect that he’s enjoying the wait significantly more than he implied earlier. The not-at-all innocent raise of his eyebrow when she takes a moment to look suspiciously at him confirms it, and she rolls her eyes as she moves up his body.

“You’re having fun,” she accuses.

“Aren’t you?” he grins, and moves his hand off his cock, beneath the dildo, and strokes his fingers between Kat’s legs, firm against her where she’s hot and wet. She gasps, tightens her thighs around him, and that smug look is back again, so Kat leans down and nips sharply at his bottom lip while she closes her fingers tightly around one nipple. Drawing in air sharply, he arches into her. When she murmurs against his lips, “Do I need to put more lube on the dildo?”, he simply murmurs back, “I’d appreciate it if you did.”

It’s an odd feeling to be braced above Darryl as she lines up the dildo with his entrance. Without saying anything, his hands come to rest on her hips, warm and big and just holding her, and he murmurs, “Look at me.” As she does, his hands tug on her, gentle but firm, and she slides into him inch by inch while the smile on his face slackens to a half-open mouth. When she’s all the way inside him, she breathes out and lets herself rest against him.

For a moment, they just lie there, although Kat thinks Darryl doesn’t need the break nearly as much as she does. Then his hands move to curve around her ass, and Kat shifts just a little, rocking into him while her stomach slides just slightly against his cock, trapped between them. With an almost inaudible “Aaah,” Darryl’s eyes darken. A low sound of pleasure rumbles its way out through his chest and into Kat’s bones, sending shivers down her spine and quickening her breath. 

Slowly, Darryl moves his hands to trace the shivers back up, and then lets them rest on the soft outside swell of her breasts. “Whenever you’re ready,” he says.

“Now is good,” Kat decides.

It takes her a few tries to get the hang of it, but Darryl's there to help again, and she knows when she’s got it right because his voice catches mid-sentence, and he finishes it breathlessly as Kat pushes in with one sure motion. When she does it again, draws out and rocks back in, he lifts his hips up to meet her, not talking any more except to urge her to go faster, harder, which she gladly does. He gets his hands in between them to cup her breasts and then stroke his thumbs around her nipples, gently over, which feels incredible enough that Kat loses her rhythm for a moment. 

When she gets it back though, grips his hips tightly and thrusts in hard, all of a sudden he lets out a loud groan and tips his head back onto the pillow, the strong line of his throat taut for a long moment. Startled, Kat stops, and just looks at the sharp pleasure suffusing his expression. His eyes blink open, and she gets out, “Was that…?”

“Oh, _yes_.”

Kat knows what a prostate is, of course, but this is the first time she’s seen someone enjoy theirs quite so thoroughly. It’s blatantly obvious what Darryl is feeling, but she can’t help asking, “I take it it feels…”

“Incredible,” Darryl supplies. “Again, if you please.”

“You mean, because it pleases you,” Kat says, but she doesn’t begrudge him that, so she makes sure she’s got ahold of him properly and cuts off his chuckle with a thrust that has his eyes fluttering closed for a moment again.

Darryl’s never shy about going after what feels good, but if she’d thought he’d been eager in bed before, he’s downright shameless about it now. One of his hands leaves her breast to wrap around his cock, and he shifts to digs his heels into the mattress. Jerking himself hard and fast, he pushes up into her every thrust, and Kat doesn’t need to hold onto him because he’s sure as hell not going anywhere but closer to her. When she brings one hand to join his, his fingers twine tight around hers as they stroke him together, his cock wet with the precome they’re spreading over it. 

They move fast and rough together, while Kat starts to shake with the effort and feels sweat dripping down her back, muscles burning but good, pleasure rushing through her as her clit presses against the base of the dildo with every thrust. Beneath her, Darryl’s flush has spread from his face down his chest, which is hot when Kat’s breasts brush against it. He’s still looking at her but his eyelids keep fluttering shut, and he’s abandoned sentences entirely in favour of one-word instructions, all of which are along the lines of ‘faster’, ‘harder’, ‘deeper’. 

Kat wants to see him lose it completely, so she knocks his hand away from her breast, and curls over him so she can close her teeth around his nipple and pull, hard. He jerks up against her, and growls out, “Again,” and when Kat bites down hard on his chest while burying herself deep inside him, his fingers dig in hard to her side and he spills hotly over their joined hands with a breathless grunt of release. When he finishes, leaving them messy and sticky, Kat lifts her head and looks at him, and he gazes back with intense pleasure that Kat knows she put there, and makes her want to do it all over again.

He laughs when her hips rock into his, and after a deep breath, puts his hands on her hips and tells her, “Pull out. Slowly.”

Kat’s throbbing and more than a little desperate, but if Darryl says slow then he means it, so she does. Thankfully, his fingers are nimble undoing the straps, and discarding the thoroughly messy strap-on. Even so, Kat can’t wait for him to get back to her, and in his absence slides her fingers between her own legs with a groan. Kneeling in front of her, Darryl takes hold of her around her waist, and pulls her forwards until she’s straddling his thighs. “Carry on,” he murmurs, and holds her up while he bends his head to her breast. 

With one hand on his shoulder for balance, Kat presses closer to him and rubs her fingers over her clit quick and fast while he sucks on one nipple and catches the other lightly in between his fingers. His mouth is devastating on her, and his fingers are no less clever, sending arousal throbbing through her, and she can feel her orgasm building fast and strong before long. Darryl speeds up with her in just the right way, and pleasure sets Kat’s nerve endings on fire, while Darryl lifts his mouth to press open-mouthed kisses to her neck and wraps her in his arms while she shakes.

Limp and exhausted, Kat slumps into him afterwards, pulling her arm free from between their bodies with what remains of her strength. “That,” she mumbles into his shoulder, “Was a lot more work than I thought it would be.”

“Mmm,” Darryl agrees. “But wasn’t it worth it?”

Yawning, Kat stretches, and sighs as loose muscles, pleasantly tired, ease beneath skin that hums with the remnants of pleasure. When she raises her head, Darryl is watching her with an expression radiating lazy contentment. “Yeah,” Kat says, and raises a hand to ruffle his already-messy hair, sweat damp and soft against her fingers. She looks at him, and rests her forehead against his. Quietly, she says, “Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure - in more ways than I can count,” he replies, and cups the back of her head gently in his hand.

When he leans back and brings her with him, Kat doesn’t protest, even though they’re both stickier than she’s been in a long time. Warm and strong beneath her, he rubs her back slowly and holds her head against his chest. With another yawn, Kat settles herself against him, and closes her eyes.

\-- -- -- -- --

She doesn’t know how long she sleeps, but when she opens her eyes again, the room is quiet and she’s alone in the big bed. The covers are drawn up around her neck, keeping her toasty warm beneath them, and for a moment Kat just lies there and smiles what is probably a ridiculous smile to herself. It only widens when she sits up to find that her clothes are laid neatly over the chair next to the bathroom door, along with a silky nightgown very similar to the one he gave her weeks ago. On the bedside table is the strap-on, in pristine condition once more, along with the neatly-capped lube.

Shaking her head, Kat murmurs, “How the hell did he manage that without waking me up?”

Then she slides out of bed, realises that she’s still covered in a variety of bodily fluids, and decides that she doesn’t care as long as she can have a shower right now.

Heavenly hot water, along with the need to clean herself up properly, has her lingering for rather a long time in the shower, and she doesn’t feel even a little guilty about it. The towels are clean and deliciously soft against her skin as she dries herself, and gets her hair as dry as she can without a hairdryer - the only thing Darryl seems to lack.

Looking at her choices for clothes, she decides after only minor debate on the silk nightgown. It’s the evening, which hopefully means that Fidel won’t be around to see her wandering around in less than should be worn in polite company. Then she takes the hairbrush, and starts easing the tangles out of her hair as she wanders out to find Darryl.

Downstairs, Darryl is reading in a chair by the fireplace, chest bare, dark pants low and loose on his hips, feet resting on the cushions strewn on the floor. As relaxed as he looks with the firelight flickering over him, he looks up from his book when Kat steps off the stairs, and transfers the entirety of his attention to her in the blink of an eye.

“There you are. Sleep well?”

“Like a log,” Kat confirms, and comes over to take the hand he holds out to her. “Thank you, for letting me.”

“You looked too adorable to wake up,” he tells her, in that tone that sounds serious but Kat always half-suspects is teasing, too. “Besides, I thought you deserved it; we did get up to some rather strenuous activities.”

Kat’s gaze falls to his chest, where she can still see the imprint of her teeth, and a nipple that’s still slightly red. “Do you want me to…” She trails off, and lays the hairbrush down on the arm of the chair, reaching out and extending a finger towards him. 

He catches her hand before she touches him though, and draws it up to kiss her fingers. “Get rid of the evidence of your passion? I think not,” he tells her. “I appreciate the offer though, truly.”

Kat almost thinks she should protest; she’s a nurse, healing people is in her blood, in _her_ in more ways than one. But Darryl’s tone, thoroughly appreciative, and the memory of how it felt to put those marks there, remind her that she’s more than that as well. There’s nothing to stop her exploring that, especially with someone who doesn’t want to hold her back, who takes equal enjoyment in her as she does in him.

With a quick nod, she lets it go. “I should finish brushing my hair, before it dries like this.”

Darryl lets go of her hands, but picks up the hairbrush and says, “Let me?”

“You don’t have to - your book -”

“Isn’t nearly as captivating as you are.”

Kat hesitates. “You’ve already done so much.”

Darryl’s eyebrows raise. “Giving doesn’t have a limit, Kat. And I promise you, spending time with you is certainly not something I see as an obligation.” When Kat doesn’t say anything - can’t, over the slight lump in her throat - he breaks the moment, in a good way, by turning puppy-dog eyes the like of which she hasn’t seen in a long time on her and asking, “Please? With a cherry on top?”

Laughing, she bends down to kiss the ridiculous look off his face. “All right.”

Legs tucked beneath her, back angled towards the fire, Kat sits among the cushions with Darryl behind her, brushing the tangles carefully from her hair. They talk in brief snatches of conversation, the silence in between easy and filled with the sounds of the fire crackling in the hearth. 

At some point, Darryl finishes with brushing her hair, but Kat can’t quite recall when, only knows that now she’s leaning back against his chest while his fingers stroke through her hair. Every so often, he rubs against her scalp, slow and firm, sending warm shivers through Kat which aren’t so much sexual as sensual. In the fireplace, flames flicker to life and dance slowly over the glowing logs, before they die slowly back down.

Eventually, Kat pulls gently away from him, and turns to face him. “I know you said giving isn’t an obligation, so don’t take this the wrong way, but… is there anything I can do for you? Not to repay a favour or anything, but just because I want to?”

“Besides lots of fantastic orgasms, you mean?”

Laughing, Kat pushes at his shoulder, and tumbles him back into the cushions. She squeaks when his hands shoot out to grab her and take her with him, and she ends up sprawled over him with her hair in her mouth. Blowing it out, she tries to glare at him, and says, “Yes, besides fantastic orgasms.”

“Stay,” he says. His voice is light but his eyes are the opposite, and for a moment Kat can’t look away. Then that look vanishes, and he’s telling her, “There are certain forms of meditation which require two people. I rarely have the chance to practice them. Your assistance would not go unappreciated. You might even find the techniques useful yourself.”

For a moment, even though she already knows the answer, Kat considers, simply because she has no commitments tonight and she’s free to do make the decision for herself. She wants to savour that feeling, so that when she meets Darryl’s eyes and says, “Yes,” she knows that she’s doing it because she wants to, as well as because he asked.

Darryl’s face lights up for a moment. “Excellent,” he says, and draws her down for a long, slow, kiss.

They end up making out on the cushions for a long time before they get around to the meditating, bathed in heat from the fire that burns bright when they touch each other, but to Kat’s mind that’s just as good a use of the evening as anything else.

\-- -- -- -- --

The weekend after, Kat turns down Darryl’s offer of dinner in favour of hanging out with Roxie and Joanna, and he inclines his head and says with his usual mischief, “Then by all means, you ladies have fun. And feel free to tell me all about it afterwards.”

“We don’t get up to nearly half of what your overactive imagination thinks we do,” Kat tells him.

With a grin, he just says, “Really?” and saunters away.

Kat has to conclude, looking at the candles on Roxie’s table, and the low lights which match all of their necklines, that he might have a point. On the other hand, it’s fun just to dress up sometimes, and anyway it’s none of his business. So she just pours herself another glass of wine and immerses herself in an evening with her two favourite people.

On Wednesday, Darryl turns up on her doorstep again, with a different offer.

“Roxie and I are having dinner on Saturday, eight pm at the mansion, and we’d be delighted if you could join us.”

Kat swallows, and presses suddenly sweaty palms against her jeans. “For… dinner?”

“For whatever you’d like.” Leaning in, he adds, “And to make things perfectly clear, yes, that does include wild sex.” Stepping back to a respectable distance, or as close to it as Darryl gets, he finishes, “You don’t have to decide now. Think about it.”

Kat really _should_ think about it, but her the first response that springs to mind is a nervous but very sure _yes_. To hell with caution and propriety, she decides. Only slightly shaky, she tells Darryl, “I’ll be there.”

He smiles, and claps his hands together as he says, “Then I look forward to seeing you on Saturday.”

When he’s gone, Kat takes a moment to breathe, then walks briskly over to Roxie’s. When Roxie opens the door, Kat tries not to stare too obviously at her breasts. She’s not entirely sure that she succeeds, because the first thing that Roxie says to her when they’re inside is, “Are you alright?”

“Yes. No. Mostly yes.” Kat paces, and then turns back to face Roxie. “I’m having dinner with you and Darryl on Saturday, and then I’m having sex with you both. Presumably at the same time, I’m not quite sure, Darryl didn’t say.”

Giving her a decidedly impressed look, Roxie says, “I didn’t expect you to go for it straight off! So you’re here to… What? Take me for a test drive before the main event?”

“Roxie!” Kat flushes. “Actually, that’s… not a bad idea. Maybe. I need to raid your wardrobe first. I don’t own anything that’s suitable for a dinner-date-threeway-prelude.”

“Well, I don’t have anything designed for precisely that situation either, but I’m sure we can rustle something up. Come on.”

They do find something, and seeing as Roxie is _definitely_ looking at her breasts when she’s got it on, Kat decides it’s probably suitable for Saturday.

Mia’s arrival back home cuts off any potential test-drives, but Roxie sends her on her way with a kiss that makes Kat’s toes curl, so she doesn’t think that’s going to be an issue either.

\-- -- -- -- --

Despite Kat’s lingering worries, dinner isn’t awkward in the slightest, especially once they’ve all got a martini in them. There’s a huge amount of flirting going on over some incredible food - Kat is sure she sees Fidel blush at one point, when he expertly serves dessert to three people who are much more in each other’s personal space than is strictly required, looking at each other with undisguised lust. Kat’s pretty sure the only reason that there aren’t literal sparks is that Darryl wisely left the candles and the fire unignited, and so the room is currently lit with soft lamplight instead.

Fidel disappears after bringing them a bottle of wine, and silence falls over them. Kat can’t work out who to look at, but then Darryl stands and picks up the wine. “Shall we make our way upstairs?” he enquires.

Kat turns to face Roxie, who extends a hand and folds it firmly around Kat’s, squeezing once as they stand. She keeps it as they follow Darryl to the bottom of the stairs, and Kat wonders briefly when she got lucky enough to have two people willing to share their pleasure with her. Then she’s distracted by the fact that Darryl has stopped and is looking at the two of them with open appreciation in his gaze.

Slipping her arm around Kat’s waist, Roxie leans in to say, “Either he’s paralysed with lust - and who can blame him, we _are_ smoking hot - or he’s trying to work out which one of us to carry up the stairs. What do you reckon?”

Laughing, Kat can’t think of a witty answer, but Roxie and Darryl are laughing as well so it doesn’t matter.

“I,” Darryl informs them, “Am carrying the wine. Seeing as I intend for a large amount of it to end up on our naked bodies, it is vital to this evening’s proceedings. If you wish to be carried, I suggest you sort that out between yourselves.”

Kat just about catches the assessing look in Roxie’s eyes before she’s lifted off her feet and held close to Roxie’s soft breasts.

“Roxie!” she exclaims, clinging on tight around her neck. “You’ll drop me, put me down!”

“Nope,” Roxie says firmly. 

“Darryl!” Kat pleads. 

He just looks at her, smiles, and shakes his head.

Roxie shifts Kat in her arms a little, and says, “Start moving, Darryl, we’ve got sex to have.”

Starting up the stairs, Darryl remarks, “I do hope you plan to include me in that ‘we’.”

“If you’re good,” Roxie tells him.

Laughing, Kat gives up on protesting. With a kiss to Roxie’s cheek, she tucks her head into Roxie’s shoulder, watches Darryl’s ass he he walks up the stairs, and gets on with the business of enjoying herself.


End file.
